Abstract [en]

In this paper concepts for quantitative theory of design are developed. The design process is viewed as a process of increasing the information of the product/system using concept from information theory. The creation and evolution of design space and information entropy are central concepts that are studied in this paper. Furthermore, axiomatic design is discussed in relation to this, and it is shown that the two fundamental axioms are likely to be dependent.

The design information entropy is used as a state that reflects both complexity and refinement, and it is argued that it can be useful as some measure of design effort and design quality. It provides a tool to describe the relation between a design, and the design space from which it is derived as well as for quantitative description for various aspects of design, both structural information regarding architecture and connectivity, as well as for parameter values, both discrete and continuous. In this paper it is also shown to be useful as a measure of quality when configuring design spaces, such as in product platforms, and when setting up parameterization for design.